Sulfide induced concrete corrosion significantly reduces the service life of the sewer systems. Gaseous hydrogen sulfide (H2S) levels are a key factor affecting the corrosion rate and these fluctuate due to the diurnal flow pattern of sewers. Currently, there is little known about how such fluctuations, in particular the periodic deprivation of H2S, may affect the corrosion activity. This study investigated the impact of the deprivation of H2S on the sulfide uptake rate (SUR) of concrete coupons incubated in laboratory corrosion chambers. After systematic evaluation of the gaseous H2S concentration profiles of two sewer systems, two types of profiles, i.e. short- (1 h) and long- (12 h) term deprivation of H2S, were applied to the concrete coupons. In comparison to the baseline SUR, exposing the concrete coupon to 0 ppm of H2S for 1 h consistently caused a temporary increase of the SUR (i.e. 3.2%-12.5%) following re-supply of H2S at baseline levels. With the continuous re-supply of H2S, there was gradual and steady decrease of SUR to the level close to the baseline SUR. However, for the case after deprivation of H2S for 12 h, the SUR was 5.1% lower than baseline SUR and gradually increased to a level similar to the baseline SUR during the 20 -30 min of continuous re-supply of H2S. In addition, the simultaneous deprivation of H2S and O-2 for 1 h had negligible impact on the SUR Further analysis suggests that the historically accumulated intermediates of sulfide oxidation could act as electron donors for sulfide oxidizing bacteria (SOB). The replenishment of the intermediates upon the re-supply of H2S could play a key role in the increase of SUR after short-term deprivation of H2S. However, the activity of SOB could be diminished after long-term deprivation of H2S, although the sulfur intermediates still could be available. Estimating the sulfide uptake by concrete using the SUR of the average H2S concentration could lead to overestimation of the sulfide uptake. There could be more significant overestimation for the case with longer deprivation of H2S. (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd.